Money Management For Kids

I made a ton of mistakes growing up when it came to money. I know many people who are still making these mistakes. I want my kids and yours to have a better chance at avoiding these fall-backs then we did.

We Are Causing Our Children’s Bad Behavior

There is a real problem with children now a days being disrespectful and having no sense of fiscal responsibility. Children like this grow up with no knowledge of money management.

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Children don’t have any idea what a dollar is worth is because they are given whatever they ask for and have no mandatory chores.

If you want your children to escape this fate then you need to start teaching them now. No matter how young they are they can start with the small things.

Even a toddler can help to pick up his toys if you show them how it is fun to put them in the basket.

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Points For Success Is Working Better Than Expected With My Kids

I have created a system with my children where they can earn points for different tasks including reading books and doing a book report, getting good grades in school or doing certain extra chores. Regular chores and homework gain no points. They are general requirements.

You can use this technique with your children too or come up with your own way. There is no 1 right way but if you decide to start later then that is definitely the wrong way.

Failures in Behavior Need To Be Meet With Real Punishments

Many parents threaten punishment without ever following through. It is easier this way for the parents but parenting is not meant to be easy. It take work. By not following through you are hurting your child’s future successfulness and causing them to lose a tiny bit of respect for you each time. (This can amount to big problems when they become teenagers)

This can help you to curve bad behavior too. Rule breaking and general snottiness lose them points. This is important because these points convert to dollars. 1 point = 1 dollar.

Now I know that this can seem a bit much so if you can’t afford to make each point = 1 dollar you can either decide to make the dollars require more points or come up with a list of different rewards in the home that your children can spend these points on, i.e. 1 extra hour of tv time.

My Points System Has Created New Good Behaviors In My Children

My children now don’t ask me for everything they see. Instead they think about whether the purchase will be worth it because they know what they had to do to earn that number of points. After earning all those points they don’t want to lose them either so they are much kinder to each other and listen better to grown-ups.

If you don’t want to do a total money conversion you can let the child choose to convert their points into dollars or spend them on the in home rewards chart.

Another idea for you would be to open up this money conversion to them a couple times per year. This can allow them to learn to save (just be sure you know how much money they could possibly ask for based on how many points they have).

Better Habits Made Now Will Make Their Futures Shine

Teaching your kids to save can greatly benefit their future. Also teaching them respect for authority will keep them out of mischief while transitioning into their adult years.

I know that I made a lot of mistakes in my young adult life because I wasn’t properly taught how to manage money, the value of a dollar or how much authority needs to be followed. I turned rebellious in my young years and am still paying for it. I learned the hard way how much work has to go into fixing a credit score once your young self screws it up.

This is something I am desperately trying to avoid for my kids future. Wouldn’t you also like to avoid this for your children?